6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Hearty, Historical Broth, January 25, 2005
The last two decades of the 19th century are two of the most colorful and momentous decades of our history, a fascinating era, but one often overlooked by good writers of historical fiction. Lowy's book is a welcome and long overdue addition to the genre.
For anyone familiar with this chapter of American history there is no suspense; the plot moves steadily toward its inevitable conclusion: the assassination of McKinley by an anarchist. But along the way, the author's attention to detail brings to life the sights, smells, and sounds of an era that seems so distant, yet-in some notable respects-uncomfortably close to our own.
It's a book of contrasts, starkly drawn. Lowy brings into sharp relief the fabulous, almost obscene, wealth of the robber barons and juxtaposes it against the grinding poverty and hardships that accompanied America's industrial revolution. That alone makes for a good read, but it's the vivid, and oddly sympathetic treatment that he gives his characters that make it compelling. Working with classic ingredients like `Dollar' Mark Hanna, William Randolph Hearst, Ambrose Bierce, and Emma Goldman, Lowy has worked up a hearty, historical broth that should please the reader. My compliments to the chef.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Something different, March 7, 2005
The sights and sounds of the Gilded Age are vividly brought to life in this novel. It is so eloquent that you can just picture every scene. The contrast between the rich (which was almost sinfully gaudy) and the poor (so dark and gloomy and hopeless) come to life.
It brings all the characters through the years to their meeting point at the Buffalo World"s Fair where anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots President McKinley.
This book is absolutely riveting and probably different from anything you've read lately. It's really worth your time.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
No one can know the truth, September 24, 2011
This review is from: The Temple of Music: A Novel (Paperback)
"No one can know the truth" is what author Jonathon Lowy imagines is one of the lessons learned from death row (the other is "nothing is simple"). And both of these phrases provide good descriptions of Lowy's interpretation of Leon Czolosz' murder of McKinley in 1901 and the historical context surrounding such an act. Lowy starts with the facts-Leon did assassinate McKinley, Emma Goldman and other socialists were active at the same time, etc., and then he embroiders an emotional life for the characters.
As a historical document, the novel provides a timeline of McKinley's assassination, but it's so disjointed and non-linear that it's particularly difficult to follow, if that's what you are reading for. As a novel, if you don't mind the skipping around in time and across characters, Lowy offers well developed sketches of historical characters and what they might have been like. Unfortunately, the voice of all the characters seems so similar that they didn't stand out much for me, and I felt a bit lost and frustrated with trying to figure out who was talking, when they were talking and how it fit into the narrative as a whole. Additionally, the inclusion of some characters' voices seemed unnecessary and just added to the confusion (why does he discuss the guy who invented condoms?).
While the plot centers on the turbulent events at the turn of the 20th century--strikes, the rise of the moneyed legends (Carnegie, Hearst, Vandeveer), socialism, political corruption etc--what distinguishes the book is its attempt to flesh out the characters so that they take on a very human conceptualization. The characters are all greedy and selfish to some degree, and there is a gentle level of ridicule that seems to underlie them all. You do not get the feeling when you are done that Lowy was particularly fond of any of them, but there are some moments in the novel where you definitely feel that Lowy is pontificating in the name of a character rather than presenting just the character's thoughts and feelings.
Some brief words about structure to prepare the unsuspecting reader--the "chapters" are divided by time and by character, so you might have "Morris 1895" follow by "McKinley 1900". But then it might jump back to 1899 or ahead to 1901, so it is not linear. If you have the patience to make some kind of timeline, you can keep track of all these events, but I did not do that and finally gave up towards the middle trying to figure out where I was in the chronology. The chapters are also very small so there are lots and lots of dates and people to keep track of. The chapters are divided into several sections, but I didn't find these a very useful guide. I'm not adverse to some interesting structural choices, but I don't see how this helped the reader except to perhaps mimic that chaotic era the novel depicts?
I picked this up because I wanted a fictionalized history of McKinley's assassination because I knew little about it or him and what I did know painted him in such an unflattering light I wanted a bit more perspective. The book did give me a bit more about the time period and McKinley so it fulfilled its purpose, but it was more work than I was prepared for. (And, it portrays McKinley as pretty unflattering as well but is a more balanced portrait than I had read in the past).
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